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Teen Blog

Reading, Wellington, and whatever else – teenblog@wcl.govt.nz

Month: May 2011

Synthesiser Patel’s Synthesiser Of The Week

Obviously I am a big fan of synthesisers, it is after all how I got my name! So it gives me great pride to present to you perhaps the most unusual synthesiser of them all, the Oramics Machine.

Daphne Oram from Setla Productions on Vimeo.

Designed by Daphne Oram in 1957, the Oramics Machine uses strips of 35mm film that shapes can be drawn on to create sound. The shapes modulated light that was then captured by photocells and, well, I can’t really explain the science, but pictures make the sounds! There is only one Oramics Machine in the entire world and it will soon be on display in the London Science Museum, book your tickets I guess.

New Books Again

A box of chocolates: horror, angels, love triangles, the origins of a New York icon, memoirs of addiction, high fantasy, gritty realism, dramas, and short stories, oh and chimpanzees again!

Non-fiction

We All Fall Down: Living With Addiction, and Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines, by Nic Sheff – Two memoirs with rave reviews on the subject of drug addiction, and companions to the book Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff. On Tweak: “The author details his immersion in a world of hardcore drugs, revealing the mental and physical depths of addiction, and the violent relapse one summer in California that forever changed his life, leading him down the road to recovery.” (Library catalogue)

Fiction

Half Brother, Kenneth Oppel (377 pages) – Oh fab! Ben’s father is a behavioural scientist, and on Ben’s 13th birthday, Zan comes to live with the family, as an experiment: Zan is a chimpanzee. Cool, you’d think. Well yes indeed!, although having a chimpanzee for a half-brother can have its hairy moments, and then when things start going wrong can Ben save Zan? (From what, I want to know, hoping it’s not horrible, and that it has a happy ending like the Chimpanzee movie.)

First sentence: This is how we got Zan.

Angry Young Man, Chris Lynch (167 pages) – Xan (not to be confused with Zan) is an angry young man, becoming increasingly involved in hard-core activism and groups of anarchists. Robert, his older brother, is completely different, steady and together. But when Xan appears to spiral out of control will Robert be able to rescue him, and is Robert such a solid, dependable hero anyway?

First sentence: I want you to understand my brother.

Huntress, Malinda Lo (371 pages) – High fantasy (complete with map) inspired by the I Ching, and prequel (by several centuries) to Ash, in Huntress the human kingdom is suffering: the sun never shines and strange creatures have begun appearing. Two seventeen year old girls are chosen to go on a dangerous journey to save the kingdom. Along the way they fall in love, but then it becomes clear that there should only be one Huntress saviour: will they be torn apart?

First sentence: She saw a beach made of ice, and she felt her heart breaking.

Summer and the City, Candace Bushnell (409 pages) – sequel to The Carrie Diaries and therefore also prequel to Sex and the City. Carrie’s having a good summer, enjoying the shopping, the parties, and the men the Big Apple provide, plus she’s in a writing class learning what will become her trade. During the summer she will meet two of her BFFs, Samantha and Miranda, and become more Carrie Bradshaw-ish.

First sentence: First Samantha asks me to find her shoe.

Dramarama, E Lockhart (305 pages) – Sadye (Sarah) and Demi (Douglas) become instant best friends when they meet at the auditions for a prestigious drama camp. When they both get in things look exciting – the chance to study under one of New York’s leading directors, for example, but it’s drama camp in more ways than one: can their friendship survive?

First sentence: Transcript of a microcassette recording: Demi: Is it on?

We’ll Always Have Summer, Jenny Han (291 pages) – the conclusion to the trilogy that began with The Summer I Turned Pretty. Belly and Jeremiah have been together for two years. Things should be happily ever after, but they aren’t really. Belly has unresolved feelings for Conrad, and when Jeremiah proposes marriage she must choose between the two, possibly breaking one of their hearts in the process. Obviously you must read this if you’ve read the others! And bring a hankie!

First sentence: On Wednesday nights when I was little, my mom and I would watch old musicals.

The Saga of Larten Crepsley: Ocean of Blood, Darren Shan (247 pages) – The prequel to Cirque Du Freak, where you get to learn more about Larten: what he was like as a teenager, rebelling against vampire authorities and hitting the road with his brother, leaving a trail of human destruction behind them. But are there dangers for him in this wanton, destructive lifestyle?

First sentence: The vampire known as Quicksilver threw a knife high into the smoke-clogged air of the tavern.

Fallen Angel, Heather Terrell (310 pages) – Ellie is shy and withdrawn around everyone except her friend Ruth, until she meets Michael. Together, she and Michael discover they have a similar secret: otherworldly powers, which will come in handy when they’re pitched into the eternal conflict, the battle between good and evil.

First sentence: I watched my curtains billow in the early autumn wind that wafted through my opened bedroom window.

Virgin Territory, Jame Lecesne (218 pages) – Set around the time of September 11 2001. Dylan’s father moves the family from New York to a small Florida town after the death of his mother. Dylan finds himself drifting through summer, losing a sense of his future while his past – and memories of his mother – appears to fade. When the Blessed Virgin Mary is sighted in town, interesting new arrivals bring a new perspective for Dylan: can he forge ahead and carve out a new future for himself?

First sentence: I’m staring out the passenger window of Doug’s banged-up Ford Explorer as we speed along I-95.

The Kissing Game: Short Stories, Aidan Chambers (215 pages) – including several pieces of flash fiction, which we like as a concept. The cover says, “In these sixteen short stories, acclaimed author Aidan Chambers examines moments of truth in which a conversation or an event suddenly reveals a surprising, sometimes life-altering meaning.”

First sentence (‘Cindy’s Day Out’): Enough! she said to herself.

Wellington authors win awards

Last night the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award Winners were announced.  Fleur Beale’s Fierce September won the Young Adult category and Leon Davidson won in the Non Fiction category with Zero Hour: The ANZACs on the Western Front.

http://www.wcl.govt.nz/easyfind/?hreciid=|library/m/wellington-carl|0000817318

Fierce September is the sequel to Juno of Taris (which won the Esther Glen award)  but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this fine story. It’s set in a dystopian future and much of the action occurs in Wellington.

Zero Hour is set on the Western Front during WWI. It’s an honest portrayal of an horrific time and place, that we don’t usually hear much about. It’s a fascinating, sad and compelling read.

The Haiku Machine

 

 

 travis barker

Give the drummer some – Travis Barker
Claims made of “no one
genre” are false. I know nu-
metal all too well.

weezer

Hurley – Weezer
Michael Cera guests,
to play the hurdy gurdy.
– Source, good ‘ole wiki.

body talk 1

Body Talk pt. 1 – Robyn
Now is as good a
time as any to link to
Librarians choice

body talk 2

Body Talk pt. 2 – Robyn
Of course we also
recommend this, the second
installment highly.

jesus and mary chain

Upside Down: The Best Of – The Jesus & Mary Chain
Scarlett Johansson’s
first backing band’s previous
career chronicled.

attack and release

Attack & Release – The Black Keys
Ably assisted
by a man dressed as a mouse
who provides keyboards.

glasvegas

Euphoric Heartbreak – Glasvegas
Contradictory
band names deserve album names
to suit I suppose.

another clubbers guide

Clubbers Guide 2011 – Ministry Of Sound
Back cover uses
type that causes Bs to look
exactly like Ds

More New Books

Non-fiction

The Girl Who Was On Fire, edited by Leah Wilson (210 pages) – young adult authors write about the Hunger Games phenomenon, including Jennifer Lynn Barnes on Team Katniss (i.e. Katniss is a character quite apart from which team she chooses); Blythe Woolston on trauma, PTSD, what it’s all about and how it works in the Hunger Games trilogy; Terri Clark on the fashion genius that is Cinna; Carrie Ryan on reality TV’s relationship with fiction, and much more!

Skin: The Bare Facts, Lori Bergamotto (97 pages) – learn about your skin! What makes it tick, what’s good for it, what really really isn’t, how to keep it healthy and much more!

Teen Cuisine, Matthew Lcrocchio (207 pages) – pages and pages of recipes, from New York style pizza dough to Grits and cheddar cheese souffles, with pulled pork sandwiches in between: cook like an American chef! There’s also a section on fondue parties, and much more!

Fiction

The Haunting of Charles Dickens, Lewis Buzbee (350 pages) – Charles Dickens, stricken with writer’s block, takes to roaming the streets of London. Meg’s brother, Orion, has disappeared, and she goes out looking for him, and in her lookings bumps into Mr Dickens. Together they must try to solve the msytery of what happened to Orion; hopefully a byproduct being a cure for Mr Dickens’ writer’s block.

First sentences: London. Mid-summer night nearly upon us.

So Shelly, Ty Roth (325 pages) – John Keats and Gordon Byron are both friends with Michelle “Shelly” Shelley (see here for some info), but not each other. When Shelly is killed in a sailing accident, Byron and Keats steal her ashes and go on the sailing equivalent of a road trip, to lay her to rest.

First sentence: Most of us like to believe that we are born to do great things, maybe even to be famous.

Illegal, Bettina Restrepo (251 pages) – After her father disappears in Texas, Nora and her mother must leave Mexico to search for him, crossing the border illegally.

First sentence: “When will you be back?” I asked, holding Papa’s hand at the bus stop.

The Water Wars, Cameron Stracher (240 pages) – in a dystopian future water is scarce and people are dying, but Kai flies in the face of this, letting drops of water spill from his cup, and claiming he knows a government secret. And then he disappears.

First sentence: The year before he joined the Reclamation, when he was still seventeen, my brother Will set a new high score at the YouToo! booth at the gaming centre.

Hothouse, Chris Lynch (198 pages) – When DJ and Russell’s fathers are both killed in a firefighting accident they must come to terms with their loss, and also being minor macabre celebrities in their town, as sons of heroes.

First sentence: “Are ya winnin’?”

Babe in Boyland, Jody Gehrman (292 pages) – Natalie’s love relationship advice at school is rubbish, so she does the only thing you can do: enrols herself in a private boys’ boarding school, as a boy. That way she can learn how boys think, see, but things get a bit tricky when she falls for her hot roommate.

First sentence: My name is Natalie Rowan.

The Gathering, Kelley Armstrong (359 pages) – Maya has a paw-print birthmark on her hip. This is the only clue to her background, and who her birth parents were. Now strange things are happening in her town: unexplained deaths, and mountain lions are approaching her, plus there’s a sexy new guy in town complicating things. The first book in a new trilogy!

First sentence: Serena stood on the rock ledge twenty feet above the lake, singing in a voice known to bring tears to the eyes of everyone who heard it.

New Books

A Match Made in High School, Kristin Walker (278 pages) – some bright spark teacher at Fiona’s high school has decided to make her class do the mother of all social experiments/class projects called “Trying the Knot”: they have to be “married” for a year, and the mandatory pairings produce a story that is “laugh-out-loud funny, unpredictable, and fresh”, says Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

First sentence: I should have known.

The Sweet Life of Stella Madison, Lara M Zeises (228 pages) – read this if you like culinary things. Stella is the daughter of a famous chef (father) and restaurant owner (mother), but she’s more into food of the fast variety, so when she lands a summer job as a food writer she’s in for a challenge. But the summer also brings on other challenges of the relationship variety, with her own confused romances, and the lives of her separated parents.

Last line: “So what’s for dinner?” I say. “I’m starving.”

Leverage, Joshua C Cohen (425 pages) – the author is a gymnast and acrobat: the photo on the back cover proves it to be so. Anyhow Leverage is about the cauldron of high school sport, and the friendship between the school fullback (American football has fullbacks: Friday Night Lights taught me so) and a gymnast that grows out of the wake of what the book calls a “violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war”. [Edited to add: It’s not for the faint hearted.]

First sentence: The high bar’s chalky bite threatens to rip the yellowed calluses right off my palms at the bottom of the swing, where the pull is heaviest.

The Iron Witch, Karen Mahoney (289 pages) – Donna Underwood needs Harry Potter as a mentor! Practically an orphan after the fey attacked and killed her father and drove her mother mad, she’s left with injuries that are magically fixed, but her hands and arms are covered with iron tattoos. Which makes her a powerful weapon in the war between humans and fairies. So, when her best friend is abducted by wood elves, Donna must accept her fate in order to save her friend (with the help of the gorgeous Xan).

First sentence: My father died saving my life when I was seven years old.

Abandon, Meg Cabot (292 pages) – A new Meg Cabot series! Following an accident (and while being worked on by hospital staff) Pierce died briefly and visited the Underworld, where she met a mysterious boy. The following year, a mysterious boy shows up at her school: the same mysterious boy. He wants to take her back. You might learn something about Persephone and Greek mythology while reading.

First sentence: Anything can happen in the blink of an eye.

The Dark Flight Down, Marcus Sedgwick (234 pages) – the conclusion to The Book of Dead Days. Boy and Willow are held captive in the Emperor Frederick’s palace where they are in constant danger, and must follow a “deadly trail” that will lead them to the Phantom. A gothic fantasy thriller.

First sentence: Midnight at the Imperial Court of Emperor Frederick III.

Chime, Franny Billingsley (361 pages) – Briony is a witch, a fact that she keeps secret on pain of death. She thinks herself to be dark and evil, until Eldric arrives and refuses to believe there is anything bad about her. Can his faith in her save her from death or insanity? “A wild, haunting mystery and romance,” says the cover.

First sentence: I’ve confessed to everything and I’d like to be hanged.

Afterlife, Claudia Gray (360 pages) – over to you, back cover: “Packed with romance, suspense and page-turning drama, Afterlife delivers a heart-stopping conclusion that won’t disappoint the many fans who have made the Evernight series such a runaway success.” So yes basically, if you’ve been reading Evernight you must read this one!

First sentence: “Sunrise is coming,” Balthazar said.

Still Sucks to be Me, Kimberly Pauley (374 pages) – Mina is a teen vampire, who has had to fake her own death in order to deal with the whole never-aging problem. Sensible! So, she’s had to move to a new town, without her bff and her boyfriend, where she finds herself in relationship tangles that even “vampire superstrength” can’t sort. The sequel to Sucks to be Me.

First sentence: I, Mina Hamilton, am officially dead.

Blink & Caution, Tim Wynne-Jones (342 pages) – cool cover (there are, like, bullet holes)! Blink and Caution are actually people, on the run (separately) until they run into each other, with Blink the unfortunate only witness to a crime and Caution escaping from her drug-dealer boyfriend. Can they work together to get out of their messes, and maybe perhaps begin an unlikely friendship?

First sentence: Look up at the Plaza Regent, Blink, in the shivery morning light.

Zombies Vs. Gleeks: Register Now

Registrations are open now for the Zombies Vs. Gleeks Trivia Night.

Places are limited – get in quick.

May 27th, 6.30pm, Wellington Central Library

New Zealand Music Month at Wellington City Libraries

Ash Graham 16 year old singer songwriter who is one of the performers for NZ Music Month.

It’s May! So once again it’s New Zealand Music Month. What’s the Library doing this year to celebrate & profile Wellington musicians?  Well…

This May, Wellington libraries will turn into temporary concert venues – showcasing young local talent. Up-and-coming young artists will perform afternoon gigs at Wellington Central Library and at the Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie), Newtown, Johnsonville and Karori branch libraries. These free events will take place Monday 16 to Friday 20 May.

nzmm-2011

– Kilbirnie on Monday 16 from 4 to 5pm
– Newtown on Tuesday 17 from 4 to 5pm
– Johnsonville on Wednesday 18 from 4 to 5pm
– Karori on Thursday 19 from 4 to 5pm
– Central on Friday 20 from 4 to 5pm

There will also be evening performances at ZEAL and The Jimmy Bar at the St James Theatre.

Wellington City Council is organising these live performances in partnership with Play It Strange, a trust established in 2003 to encourage young New Zealanders to develop interests and skills in songwriting and musical performance.

Other Music Month events include a series of Music Workshops.

On Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 May Toi Poneke Arts Centre will hold free workshops for independent musicians. The workshop on Monday is for musicians who want to break into the Australian market and will be full of hits and tips for people who have already crossed the Tasman.

This is followed on Tuesday with the launch of the Instrumental’s Musician’s Publicity Toolkit – with a live performance from Mara TK. The toolkit is a musician’s essential guide to self-publicity and online marketing.

A full list of events, times and venues in Wellington for New Zealand Music Month can be found on the Toi Poneke Arts Centre’s Facebook page

Further facebook details with a full list of performers after the jump

Read More

Gold Soundz

deerhoof

Deerhoof vs. Evil – Deerhoof
Cuddly avant garde
popsters fight evil forces.
Yoshimi redux?

ciara

Basic Instinct – Ciara
First Lady of “Crunk
‘n B” rounds bases, covers
all with hits. Home run.

bright eyes

The People’s Key – Brights Eyes
Conor Oberst’s band
name reminds me of Bonnie
Tyler
. Can’t help it.

mastodon

Crack The Skye – Mastodon
Mammoth riffing from
prehistoric pachyderm
namesake metal band.

wasting light

Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl and his pals
finally deliver on
long made promises.

lykke li

Wounded Rhymes – Lykke Li
Sweden takes further
monopoly on pop songs
worth blogging about.

rise against

Endgame – Rise Against
This week in angsty
radio punk broadcasting
from America.

Now That’s What I Call Music 35 – Various Artists
Currently these are
the songs EMI Records
are calling music.

A State Of Trance 2011 – Armin Van Buuren
Not hypnotism
related, rather it is
dance music instead.

Zombies Vs. Gleeks

 Brains

You, your mates and zombies, Glee, prizes, gloating rights, free food, brains! Wait, what…?

Okay, there might not be brains, but eveything else will be there. Pull a team of Glee and Zombie experts together and get ready for the Zombies Vs. Gleeks Trivia Night.

Open for teams of  13 to 18 year olds (min 2 – max 4), the Zombies Vs. Gleeks Teen Trivia Night will be at the Wellington Central Library on 27th May at 6.30pm. Registrations open soon and places will be limited so get your team ready to go and start planning your costumes.

Trailer Tuesday

Tuesday means trailers! The first is a good one. You will tear up! Awww. It is called Chimpanzee, and is due out next year. You can watch it after watching the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and be all, “eh, apes aren’t all bad.”

The video for Lady Gaga’s newest single, Judas,  is due out on the 5th (in the US, so the 6th here?). There is no trailer for it yet, as is so often the case, but she tweeted an image this morning. Sort of a trailer picture? Cast your eyes over it here!

Parodies/mashups of classic novels are all the rage these days, what with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, or Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters. The latest – The Meowmorphosis – is a mix of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and adorable kitties. If anything, hopefully, it will get people reading more Kafka, whose cheery books are guaranteed to lighten your day.

Sometimes people make their own trailers for things that don’t really exist. Like the romantic comedy version of The Shining, for instance. Very funny! Here’s one that is very new, and very sweet. When Kurt Met Blaine is sort of a Glee version of When Harry Met Sally (an old romantic classic). Oh also, SPOILER ALERT.

Also! Here’s the newest trailer for Immortals, which looks pretty good, right? It’s based on the classic story of Theseus, which can be obtained from your local library.

Cassandra Clare in Kilbirnie

Cassandra Clare, author of the bestselling Mortal Instruments series, will be visiting New Zealand next week, including a whirlwind stop for a booksigning at the Children’s Bookshop in Kilbirnie on Tuesday the 10th of May. If you’re interested in attending, email the Children’s Bookshop: more information, including times and email address, is here.

On the subject, Booksellers NZ is giving you the chance to win a copy of City of Fallen Angels. You just need to enter before 5pm on Wednesday the 4th (you’ve got two days!).